US removes North Korea from terror list, saving nuclear deal

The Times ^ | 10/10/2008 | Richard Lloyd Parry

[bruinbirdman]

The failing North Korean nuclear deal appears to have been saved from collapse after the United States agreed to remove the isolated dictatorship from its list of terrorist states.

But the move has alienated the government of Japan, which opposes such concessions until Pyongyang has told the truth about Japanese citizens which it abducted during the Cold War.

The fragile agreement on North Korean nuclear disarmament, finally agreed last year after four years of tortuous negotiation, had appeared to be in danger after North Korea threatened to reactivate the plutonium reactor where it has generated the material for an unknown number of nuclear warheads.

It accused the Bush administration of reneging on an agreement in June to “delist” North Korea from the registry of countries regarded as state sponsors of terrorism. But the US demanded that it first agree to allow international inspectors to visit suspected nuclear sites to confirm that North Korea has owned up to the full extent of its nuclear programme.

According to US and South Korean media reports, and informed sources in Tokyo who spoke to The Times, American and North Korean negotiators reached a compromise agreement in Pyongyang last week. President Bush will agree to delisting, reportedly as early as today, in return for North Korea’s agreement on steps to be taken to verify its nuclear declaration.

The details of the “verification protocol” are still unclear, and will be scrutinised by those who suspect Mr Bush of caving into the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il. Conservatives, including some of the president’s former neo-con supporters, object on principle to the deal of cutting a deal with a regime which they regard as murderous, illegitimate and inherently untrustworthy.

Yesterday, South Korea’s foreign minister confirmed that a compromise had been made on

[bruinbirdman]

Did Lil Kim sign the agreement?

[pissant]

The further disintegration of the Bush Administarion

[hinckley buzzard]

The details of the “verification protocol” are still unclear, and will be scrutinised by those who suspect Mr Bush of caving into the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il.

Gee, no sh*t. Why would we ever suspect something like that?

I note from the rest of the article that North Korea now has the initiative in these "negotiations."

Krikey.

[KoRn]

"The further disintegration of the Bush Administarion"

I couldn't have said it better, except for the spelling, but I totally agree none the less.

[WellyP]

No matter what happends in N. Korea, the markets can’t go down that much more. What’s another 1,000 point drop in the Dow? We may as well just blow the living sh-t out of them and get it over with!

[AmericanInTokyo]

And Bushbots will have the audacity to get on here and applaud this is somehow masterful. Amazing.

Oh well. There goes US-Japan Relations.

[pissant]

Amazing how far we have fallen.

[Iron Munro]

When he took Kim Jong Il off the list he should have added Henry Paulson.

[Wuli]

the “dear leader” performed some new nuclear bluster blackmail events and Condi caved like the empty suit she is

off the terrorists list, the dear leader will have greater access to international financial markets

and, did Condi get certifiable inspections?

absolutely not

only the dear leaders promises they will come, for the right deal

nuclear blackmail works with Bush and Condi

[Wuli]

Bush hands the next President a worse problem on North Korea than what he got from Clinton.

Kim Jong Il has gotten more from Bush, in international recognition, than Clinton supplied and still has no bonified agreement on verification of anything.

what a wuss

thinking of his legacy, not the country, like Clinton

[Brian S. Fitzgerald]

Bushwacked again.